Top job: Carolyn Lee

My last role at Deutsche Bank was in the diversity team, where I focused primarily on employee networks, student diversity initiatives and work-life balance.

What qualifications do you hold?

BA (Hons) and MA degrees, both in English literature.

What are the duties in your new role?

I’m responsible for the development and implementation of the diversity strategy at Herbert Smith, in conjunction with the firm’s Inclusivity Group. It’s a standalone role, and I report to the head of HR.

What do you hope to achieve in your new role?

To make diversity real within Herbert Smith, so that it’s genuinely part of the way the organisation works and thinks.

What are the challenges HR faces in the nextfive years?

Recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.

What advice would you give to people starting out in HR?

Seize every opportunity you have to learn something new.

What is the essential tool in your job?

Listening and communication skills.

And the most overrated?

Meetings.

What is the strangest situation you have been in at work?

After I graduated, my first job was teaching degree students on a remote Indian reserve in the Canadian Arctic. As the textbooks for my English literature course didn’t arrive, I had to find alternative teaching material and work out a way to deliver it.

Who is your ultimate guru?

There are a number of people from whom I seek advice, but there’s no one person I’d nominate as my ‘ultimate guru’.